The Birds’ Calendar 
covers the back can only be seen as it now and 
then skims the surface of the water, or rests 
awhile on the waves from which it gathers its 
food. But the air seems their native element 
more than the water, and in the grand sweep 
of their wings and in their slow and majestic 
progress, they give to the beholder the sense of 
rest rather than of weariness. 
It is a simple but necessary rule that if you 
would see the birds you must go where they are. 
In winter they chiefly frequent the evergreens 
and such other trees as have coarse bark in 
which the larve of insects are hid. They are 
also to be looked for among the shrubbery and 
weeds to which last year’s berries and seeds are 
still clinging ; while in the coldest weather they 
gather what cheer they can in some sheltered, 
sunny nook, where they find a brief respite from 
icy winds and chilling shadows. To them at 
this season certainly life is little more than 
meat. 
Knowing their habits helps very much to 
identify them. If you find aspecimen curious- 
ly running around and up and down the tree- 
trunk, as if all directions were horizontal, it is 
inevitably the nuthatch—probably the white- 
breasted—though you may not have a glimpse 
32 
